Ubisoft Montreal staffers in potential hostage situation Update: They were swatted.

[hillelslovak87]

"But he was soon so stressed out by work that he developed an ulcer and started coughing up blood."

pfffft. That's every job I've ever worked for someone else. pfffft.

 

[HHJ]

"But he was soon so stressed out by work that he developed an ulcer and started coughing up blood."

pfffft. That's every job I've ever worked for someone else. pfffft.

Pretty much. What a crybaby

 

[Madmick]

If it turns out to be an employee they many want to look into if drugs were involved not pot but hard drugs. Video game development not joking is serious and life destructive business many developers and testers can go days without sleep.

Some turn to amphetamines to keep themselves going. A lot of the blame falls on the leadership for pushing employees to the point of breakdown. Many are young breaking into the world with the hopes of becoming a producer were the real money is made "profit share not base pay".

A vast majority end up leaving after a few years of burnout most times way worst off. Montreal and Vancouver has become a growing hot bed for these businesses because of lack of oversight. UBI not alone Microsoft and others run big development businesses in Montreal not just gaming but AI and robotics. You could call them software sweat shops.


EDIT: One company I personally know employees had setup cubicles to be make shift bedrooms were they would bring their sleeping bags. The company had a small gym and showers so the employees did not mind.

Baseline salary is $62K/yr CAD. The majority of salaries (i.e. non-leadership roles) fall between 72K-91K/yr CAD. The overall average is $79K/yr. That's 60K/yr USD. That's 1.78x the average annual earnings of a worker in the USA.
https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Ubisoft-Montreal-Salaries-EI_IE12717.0,7_IL.8,16_IM990.htm

Meanwhile, Statista has tracked business surveys totaling hundreds of respondents in the industry, globally, and ~85% of salaried workers work between 31-50 hours a week.

The majority of reviews of workplace dissatisfaction I skimmed on various sites were temps, customer service reps, and other low-skilled workers generally outside career paths who were making low hourly wages.

I guess the mundane reality is too boring.

 

[KaNesDeath]

Pretty fucked up to be joking about something like this.

Small CSGO twitch streamer years back was swatted while streaming a Cache game with friends. After police cuffed the streamer one friend who was also watching his stream said over voip "Counter-Terrorists win".

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Baseline salary is $62K/yr CAD. The majority of salaries (i.e. non-leadership roles) fall between 72K-91K/yr CAD. The overall average is $79K/yr. That's 60K/yr USD. That's 1.78x the average annual earnings of a worker in the USA.
https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Ubisoft-Montreal-Salaries-EI_IE12717.0,7_IL.8,16_IM990.htm

Meanwhile, Statista has tracked business surveys totaling hundreds of respondents in the industry, globally, and ~85% of salaried workers work between 31-50 hours a week.

The majority of reviews of workplace dissatisfaction I skimmed on various sites were temps, customer service reps, and other low-skilled workers generally outside career paths who were making low hourly wages.

I guess the mundane reality is too boring.

Quebec has the highest taxes in North America. 15% sales tax, and up to 25% income tax not including federal income tax. Iirc at the highest marginal rate it’s something like 54% combined federal and provincial income tax.

 

[Madmick]

Quebec has the highest taxes in North America. 15% sales tax, and up to 25% income tax not including federal income tax. Iirc at the highest marginal rate it’s something like 54% combined federal and provincial income tax.

Sure. That's what Canadians voted for. Love their taxes.

Median Quebecois salary is $46K/yr CAD ($35K USD). That's salary, though, not necessarily raw earnings which includes lower income workers. I didn't go that deep. So Ubisoft yields 1.71x the regional average. Nevertheless, earnings tend to be higher in cities-- as does the related cost of living. Based on surveys, average gross salary is $73K CAD, and average software developer salary is $81K. More concretely, based on government data, the average household income is $70K. Average hours worked per week in Canada is 36.6, and average in Quebec is lowest in the nation, at 35.1 (compared to 38.7 in USA).

So I find the whole slave labor sob story an oversell. Not buying.